As a United Nations Committee on children's rights confronts the Vatican on its abysmal record on clerical paedophilia and criminal cover-ups, Keith PorteousWood describes his role in bringing the Holy See to account.

Terry Sanderson says level of arrogant politicisation to which The Catholic church aspired under the papacy of Joseph Ratzinger was appalling, but perhaps the decline of support in the pews may bring the Church to its senses.

Ratzinger is wailing about the publication of a book, His Holiness: The Secret Papers of Benedict XVI, by Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi. It is based on documents leaked from the Vatican by un-named sources. The documents reveal a web of corruption and cronyism within the walls of Vatican City that would put a Dan Brown novel to shame.

Sign-up to get the free, weekly latest National Secular Society news delivered straight to your inbox.